C/T Silvertip Ballistic Tips or Accubonds

Prosper, I think you should go hunting and shoot some game with Accubonds, Partitions, and X bullets, then get back to us
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My whole point is that I don't NEED to try anything else, cause I've used partitions, am confident when I use them, can shoot them accurately, and have had them serve me well over the years. I have no need for any additional capabilities, so I'll stick with what I've got. Good old reliable. Maybe, one day, if I ever decide to go really long-range, I'll go with something else.
 
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what about those of us that have a Nosler Partition hating rifle? mine doesn't shoot them worth a ####. should I throw away my Innerbonds? that shoot .6moa consistantly?
 
prosper said:
My whole point is that I don't NEED to try anything else, cause I've used partitions, am confident when I use them, can shoot them accurately, and have had them serve me well over the years.
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then why did you reply to a thread about Ballistic Tips and Accubonds for a 30-06?
 
although I admire the design of the Nosler Partition, it is far from the best. that being said it is probably without a doubt the most famous 'controlled expansion "premium"' bullet, and most widely used premium bullet in the past fifty years. the benchmark of all bullets to be judged by.

but it is fairly expensive, sheds 25-40% of its weight, and often exits with a small hole, as the front section of the jacket is thin enough to expand at low speeds (1900 fps), but peels back against the shank fairly quick, but doesnt offer too much frontal area, compared to other bullets (Accubond,Interbond, etc).

I have had nothing but good results with Partitions on game, 6.5mm 140 gr., 7mm 160 gr, 7mm 175 gr., but the Nosler P is not my go-to bullet, not even close to being top 4.

JMHO.
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prosper said:
I'm not trying to cause an argument here, I don't feel strongly about this issue at all, so please don't take any of this personally. It's not a big deal, and not really worth argung about, but hey - this IS the Internet ;) But I gotta say you're not really convincing me. I'll concede that these bullets are far superior to the long range hunters out there (+500yds), if you'll concede that 90+% of hunters who use these bullets aren't long range shooters (bulls**t aside)


'Cause sub-MOA accuracy is so terribly important in a hunting rifle. If you can put a bullet into a pie plate at the range you're hunting at, the difference is nil.

That's not been my experience. Also see my first point.

Sure, but this is a small portion of the people who use these bullets. Far more hunters think themselves 500-yarders than actually are.

True, but 'easy expansion' is directly proportional to 'decreased penetration.' Plus, see my previous point.

Depends on which particular plastic tip we're talking about. As you pointed out earlier, there are a wide variety of them available. As a general rule of thumb though, the all offer faster/earlier expansion, which also means less penetration. On large game, a bullet does not need to expand at all for the first few inches.

Again, some are, some aren't. But who cares - these are hunting bullets, not high-volume match/varmint bullets. You won't NEED many of them, so your costs stay reasonable whichever way you go.


May be more fair to say they WERE gimmicks, decades ago. Gimmicks from that long ago that are still around have established themselves very well, and moved from 'gimmick' status to 'mature, tested and established' status. Indeed the Partition has become the benchmark big game bullet. This is not to say that the design can't be improved upon, or bested by another. But IMHO it hasn't, yet. New designs show a lot of promise and given some time to establish themselves and build a field-proven track record.
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Your arguments seem to be confined to what you are capable of, what you think others are capable of, and how much accuracy you are happy with etc.

How about tellign us *your* experience using Accubonds on big game?

You seem happy wiht the performance you get form a Partition, yet you dismiss the Accubond, which gives similar performance, often better accuracy, and is less expensive..:confused:
 
It true, the only experiences I've had are my own, ;) and that of course frames my views, but I the same can be said of everyone who's ever uttered an opinion on any topic, ever.

The original poster had narrowed his list down to only two bullets, and I have to point out that those are hardly to only two choices out there.
 
I'd hunt moose with these :

Sierra 180 gr Pro Hunter
Sierra 180 gr GameKing
Sierra 180 gr round nose
Sierra 200 gr GameKing
Sierra 220 gr pro hunter
Winchester 180 gr. Power point
Speer 165 gr Hot Core
Speer 165 gr. Grand Slam
Speer 180 gr round nose
Speer 180 gr hot core
Speer 180 gr boat tail
Speer 180 gr Grand Slam
Speer 180 gr Mag Tip
Speer 200 gr Hot Core
Speer 200 gr grand slam
trophy bonded 165 gr
trophy bonded 180 gr
trophy bonded 200 gr
remington 165 gr soft point
remington 180 gr cor lokt sp
Hornady 165 gr interlock
hornady 165 gr interbond
hornady 180 gr interlock
hornady 180 gr boat tail
hornady 180 gr sst
hornady 180 interbond
hornady 190 gr interlock bt
hornady 220 gr round nose
Nosler 165 gr partition
nosler 165 gr accubond
nosler 180 gr ballistic tip
nosler 180 partition
nosler 180 accubond
Nosler 200 gr accubond
nosler 200 gr partition
nosler 220 gr partition
nosler CT 150 gr partition gold
nosler ct 165 gr fail safe
nosler ct 180 Fail Safe
Barnes 150 gr X
Barnes 165 gr X
Barnes 168 gr XBT
Barnes 180 X
Barnes 200 gr X
Lapua 200 gr mega


Id happily hunt with maybe a dozen of them

options, yes there is options. of the two bullets listed in the original post, I'd still go with the Accubond! :) :rolleyes:
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To the orig post, new gen Nosler BT and Accubond - same bullet just one has the core glued to the jacket. This was proven through sectioning bullets.

At 30-06 velocities, core/jacket separation is simply not an issue so bonding isn't really of benefit. Expansion rates are essentially the same.

Internal construction is very similar to the SWIFT. Hunting weight BT are NOT fragile bullets anymore.

Also, consider the SST. Similar in concept, possibly tougher in construction, 1/2 the price, and match bullet accurate. If you really need to have a jacket and core bonded, the Interbond is also very accurate.

Just remember that a bonded core does not control how wide or fast a bullet expands. The only thing bonding guarantees is that you will find lead on the jacket fragments!!!!!!

I consider bonding a very expensive gimick. Sorry, to those who make take offense.

Want a bullet that doesn't expand much and penetrates more, get one with a tougher/thicker jacket or homogeneous copper. Or slow the impact velocity of a conventional bullet - same end result.

Jerry
 
mysticplayer said:
I consider bonding a very expensive gimick. Sorry, to those who make take offense.
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I certainly dont take offense, my favorite hunting bullet have no lead :p

Hunting bullet choice can be over-analyzed, just pick a 180 grain bullet that shoots accurate in your 30-06, fits your budget, and go practice until you are proficient enough to hit milk jugs from field rests out to whatever distance you can nail them 90% of the time. :)
 
I have used the Nosler BT 180 gr bullet to take several moose, with never a lost animal, or even one that travelled more than a few yards. I admit that none of them were shot within 125 yards, so the BT has a chance to do what it does best. I did bag a calf moose one year at close range, but it was a neck shot, and the bullet wasn't recovered. It's true they can break up, if they wack a bone, but there is still enough gumption in it to kill, even then.

I would not hesitate to use the 180 gr BT for moose. That being said, where I find moose, more, and more, I am finding grizzly bear. I wanted a better bullet then the BT, just in case I ran into a mean bruin. I was sold on the Swift A-frame 180gr, and they shot beautiful from my 30-06. BUT.. they are bloody pricey. I don't use them much at the range for practise, solely for hunting purposes. The nice thing with them in my rifle, was they shot at the same POI as the Ballistic tips, and, as I found out last year, the 180gr Accubonds. They all shoot the same group. Very pleasing!:)

So if you are hunting moose/deer in an area that may contain a few grizz, I would load a more solid bullet then the BT. Just keep in mind that the solid bullets don't expand as well at lower velocitys (ie. long range with the 30-06) so may tend to pencil through. The BT has the advantage of still mushrooming nice downrange, at lower velocitys.
 
I was doing some online reserch and noticed that the Hornady InterBonds seem to be in between the Ballistic Tips and the Accubonds. This thought is stricktly from looking at the cut-away views of the bullets, seeing how they are built. Anyone have an opinion?
 
I have no need for any additional capabilities, so I'll stick with what I've got. Good old reliable.
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If everyone thought that way we would still be hunting only with muzzleloaders.They did kill game for many years.They were old reliable.
 
For a 7mm RM zeroed at 200 yards, there is only a 4 inch difference in drop by the time it gets to 400. -16" vs -20" Rare is the hunter capable of sooting a 4" group at 400, so the drop is within the margin of error anyway.
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Actually you have to add the difference in trajectory to the margin of shooter error and to the accuracy potential of the rifle.You must also add in the difference in wind drift between the two bullets.This is often as much or more than the difference in trajectory.That is adding up to quite a bit of difference.
As for the 4" groups at 400 yards,I guess that makes me rare as my 400 yard groups with my rifles are usually 3" or less off a bench and often under 4" off of a bipod or field rest.
 
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